You wouldn't know by looking at my blog that one of my passions is in hand pulled prints. Specifically etchings (intaglio) and all the techniques that go with it. I have my own press bed that I bought a few years back when we had a particularly successful year (knowing that the price only goes up on these things and I was able to lock in on a price by putting it on lay away). The folks at Takach Press here in Albuquerque are sooo nice.
Anyway, since I had posted info in the previous blog on the 'I'iwi birds, I thought I'd pull this out of my stash and review.
The first image is a pen and ink drawing that I did from the cover of a National Geographic magazine. No, I didn't trace or anything. I penciled in where I needed to be and then went over with my Rapidograph pen (I've had a 30 year love affair with those pens).
The pen and ink image was transferred to a zinc plate and etched accordingly. Many images are pulled in the process to check and see if things are etching as you want it to in the acid bath. The zinc plate size is 6" X 9". I then went back and created different tones via the aquatint method. I still wasn't happy with the outcome and then took it way past the point of no return which is the final image. I still don't like it as it is impossible to create editions from this plate as I took the etch too far. The colors on the print were all done in one pass via selective wiping.
Speaking of selective wiping, I am about to take a master class in regards to this at New Grounds Print from a Oaxacan artist, Enrique Flores. I am excited and intimidated at the same time. I also do not have new images to work with! Yipes! Guess I'll have to keep it simple and bring in old plates to print from.
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